


Crescent Moon

by chunni



Series: Moon Series [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blushing, Bruce is in denial, Drinking, Fluff and Angst, Good Parent Alfred Pennyworth, Less Angsty Than I Intended Though, M/M, Misunderstandings, Romantic Soulmates, Self-Hatred, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Sunrises, Underage Kissing, so many misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 07:29:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18545104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chunni/pseuds/chunni
Summary: Where a mark resembling the soulmate’s appears on the body between the 16th and 18th birthday.(...)Maybe his mind didn’t want to comprehend the situation.Because it just couldn’t be that Dick Grayson was his soulmate.(...)





	Crescent Moon

**Author's Note:**

> Obligatory I'm no native speaker, please don't feel bad about correcting any mistake I made :)
> 
> Here's my take on a Soulmate AU!
> 
> (Don't look too closely into the plot holes...)

**Crescent Moon**

~

~

~

soulmark, _noun_

1 An indelible symbol revealing the romantic and spiritual connection to another person.

_‘they got married after realizing that they were sharing a soulmark’_

(…)

~

Bruce didn’t think about the whole soulmate topic too much.

He had, once, but those times were long gone. He wasn’t willing to mull over things that couldn’t be changed anymore. When you’re looking at something for almost twenty years every day, every minute, it was blurring into the daily routine. The mark had slowly lost all the novelty and excitement it had brought with it those years ago when he first set his eyes on it. Until it fell into oblivion.

He had met a lot of people in his life but his soulmate had never been among them. _Maybe it shouldn’t be_ , he had told himself. _Maybe I’m destined for something else_.

Nowadays he didn’t even need to do that.

Nowadays he looked at the small pale crescent moon on his wrist like it was just another part of his skin.

~

When Dick reached his 16th birthday the thought of him getting his mark didn’t even enter Bruce’s mind.

It didn’t need to.

The day went by like any other birthday before and no mark appeared.

~

It wasn’t until the end of summer, shortly after the beginning of the next school year, that Bruce’s life shattered to pieces.

~

When Dick rushed into the kitchen screaming like a madman, Bruce almost lost his grip on the cup of coffee he was sipping. His muscles tensed. There were still a few drops leaping over the rim but he forgot everything about them as soon as Dick’s words reached his mind.

“It happened, _finally_ ,” he grinned, “It _really_ happened, Bruce! I thought I’d never get it but here we are!”

Bruce blinked without saying anything. Dick was still in the shorts and the old shirt that he slept in, the hair dishevelled. _He probably went straight to the kitchen after waking up. Maybe he wanted to eat something first_ , his mind suggested. They did have had an exhausting night. Somehow there were always more criminals in the streets at the end of the week.

However, that didn’t explain why he had said what he had said. It also didn’t explain the sparkle in his eyes, the way his feet almost floated across the floor and his fist bumping the air as if he’d won the championship on his own.

“And Wally said I’d die a virgin, _hah_!” Dick laughed throwing his head back. It trickled away when he noticed Bruce’s frown.

Dick raised an eyebrow. “You do know what I’m talking about, right?”

Bruce took another sip of his coffee. His skin prickled as if reminding him of something he should know but he couldn’t grasp it. It was like looking into a frozen lake without being able to touch the water.

“I know I’d be happy if you were this excited about following my instructions,” he said.

Dick snorted before shaking his head. “You should know that I’m no child anymore, Bruce,” he retorted. “This is just another prove.”

Bruce still hadn’t the slightest clue what Dick was talking about but there was no chance in hell he’d admit it. He was the elder, wasn’t he? The silence stretched for a bit more than a minute before Dick rolled his eyes.

“It’s my soulmark, old man.”

_Oh._

For a second a certain spot on Bruce’s wrist warmed up as if somebody were holding a candle against it. He breathed over the weight pressing down on his shoulders until he could focus again. His lips trembled as he searched for words.

“Congratulations, I guess.” He turned to put the empty mug into the sink. There was a soft ache inside his chest that he couldn’t quite place and he bit his teeth together. Maybe he should have shown more interest as Dick seemed to overflow with joy but he couldn’t bring himself to do so.

“Mine’s actually quite pretty,” Dick said behind his back. “This one girl in my class has a bicycle on her cheek. Poor Jenny…” A sigh. There was a scratching sound indicating Dick pulling a chair back. “I can’t wait to tell the Titans. Wally’s gonna be so envious! A moon’s much better than some ugly arrow…”

Bruce froze. _It couldn’t be, could it?_  

He shook his head but he couldn’t resist the urge to turn around. His eyes flickered across the room to where Dick was sitting and his stomach dropped. Dick hadn’t begun to eat. Instead, he was holding up his arm examining the inside as if it were some expensive bracelet.  

It took Bruce two steps forward to see what exactly it was that Dick was looking at. Two steps had never been that hard. It was as if the air itself were working against him. 

And they wouldn’t have been necessary. 

He knew the lines marking Dick’s wrist. He had glanced at them often enough with a smile, a frown or a blank face and a heavy mind. He had traced them often enough on his own skin. 

Bruce’s tried to inhale but the breath didn’t want to reach his lungs. Hr tried to think of something,  _anything_ , to say, to do, but there were no words in his mind. 

A cloud surrounded his head numbing his senses and taking away any feeling of balance. If it weren’t for his muscles tensing like they’d never move again he would have collapsed on the floor. He watched with wide, unblinking eyes and a half-opened mouth.

Maybe his mind didn’t _want_ to comprehend the situation.

_Because it just couldn’t be that Dick Grayson was his soulmate._

It wasn’t until Dick said something that he was ripped out of his stupor.

“You know, come to think of it, you never told me about _your_ mark, Bruce.”

Bruce would have flinched if it weren’t for years of meditation and training teaching him how to stand and breathe almost immovable. When he saw Dick’s head turning to look at him Bruce forced every flicker of emotion out of his face.

Dick’s eyes were gleaming, the grin on his face unbroken. The sun rays falling through the window made his black hair shine like silk. It could have been a picture straight from the next _Vogue_ , even with Dick being a guy and wearing nothing but an old shirt and shorts.

Bruce didn’t want to look at him but now that he did he couldn’t tear his gaze away. With every passing second the weight on his chest grew heavier, his insides twisting with a feeling he couldn’t quite name. Guilt?

Something danced through Dick’s eyes as they met Bruce’s. “It must be quite hideous when just the mention of it makes you pull a face like that,” he teased.

Bruce couldn’t say the truth. He couldn’t. He felt as if he were caught in a storm with nowhere to go, with nowhere to seek guidance and shelter. The only thing he was sure of was that Dick mustn’t know the truth. He mustn’t know, come what may. Bruce’s tongue felt alien in his mouth but somehow he managed to speak. “I don’t have one,” he growled.

He shook his head as if he could shake away all unwanted thoughts and feelings in doing so. It didn’t help at all. The air around him felt like syrup, his heart jumped in his chest and the only thing he wanted was leaving this damn room. He didn’t want to look at Dick and he wanted Dick to look at him even less.

His shirt might as well be invisible. He felt as if the mark on his wrist were screaming red. As if there were arrows pointing at him from all sides. _Here’s the guy that managed to find his soulmate in the kid he adopted!_

He fought criminals in the dark and dirty alleys of Gotham every night but this was worse than all of them together. He’d rather take on the Joker than spending just another minute in Dick’s presence at this point.

“I need to go to a meeting,” he ground out grabbing the first idea floating through his mind.  “See you later, Dick…”

The last thing he saw before fleeing the kitchen was the expression on Dick’s face. The sinking of the corners of his mouth, the drawn together eyebrows, the soft tremble of his lips as he moved them to speak.

Bruce didn’t stay to listen to his words.

~

Dick Grayson.

Richard John Grayson.

Robin.

Former circus acrobat.

Bruce Wayne’s ward and, well, also his soulmate apparently.

How ironic.

Apparently all those gossip magazines had been right when they were questioning the billionaire taking in a young, pretty boy. He wanted to laugh but the sound got stuck in his throat and made him choke.

Bruce had gone to work after the incident in the kitchen but he’d never felt further from working. The first thing he’d done was instructing the secretary to tell everyone asking that he had important letters to write and didn’t want to be disturbed.

He couldn’t understand how _that_ was even possible.

He was way too old for Dick, wasn’t he? And Dick… he was barely more than a child. Not even eighteen years old.

When Bruce was being honest with himself a part of him had been relieved when he’d never met his soulmate. For that meant he didn’t have to inflict his problems, past and present, on that person. Nobody should have to deal with that, should have to deal with _him_.

His head, his chest ached and he didn’t know how to make it stop.

His hand rose to rub the bridge of his nose and he closed his eyes sighing. Dick… he didn’t deserve this. He deserved a normal life with a normal wife and family. A happy, a _healthy_ life. And now he was doomed with Bruce.

The rational part of Bruce knew that he had no control over who got to be soulmates, that it wasn’t his fault. Nevertheless, he couldn’t help but feel guilty.

 _I should've never taken him in_.

~

Bruce made himself read every article about _soulmates_ and _soulmarks_ he could get his hands on.

At first he had entertained the thought that the mark indicated not only romantic connections but also strong platonic ones. Maybe his genes couldn’t identify a romantic partner so they chose the next best thing.

It would be awkward to talk with Dick about it but in no way as awkward as talking about the prospect of being in a romantic relationship. Only thinking about it made him wish for cold water to wash away the heat in his cheeks. That was no possibility. Not for him and even less for Dick.

Dick would be devastated either way but Bruce had hoped there was a way for Dick to… free himself. To choose. To have a family.

To have a future that didn’t seem so damn cast in stone.

In the end, Bruce found a depressing high number of people born entirely without a mark.

He found a man that accidentally killed his soulmate and committed suicide in the aftermath.

He found quite a lot of soulmates with an age gap, sometimes even bigger than his and Dick’s.

He found a woman with _two_ soulmarks that lived in a polyamorous relationship.

And all of those with a mark had been in love.

~

Bruce never drank alcohol.

He needed his wits to stay sharp, his body to stay fit. Alcohol would only rush like poison through his veins tainting his thoughts and feelings.

He’d never wished for poison more than that day.

When he reached for the bottle of vodka his fingers trembled. They didn’t anymore when the clear liquid burned through his throat and settled in his stomach. The warmth spreading through his body was more like standing in the fires of hell than lying in the sun.

~

When he returned to the manor the world wavered with every step he took. A part of him wondered why it was so hard to open the door, why it is was so hard to walk in a straight line, why he felt like he could throw up at any time.

But it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter because there might be a weight pressing down on him but it was no more than a shadow behind his eyelids. He couldn’t even remember why it was there in the first place. What had been his problem again?

It had to do with Batman, right? His problems always had to do with Batman.

He laughed but it sounded wrong in the silence of the dark hallway. Maybe it also would have sounded wrong at daylight.

It sounded sad. Maybe that was why it seemed wrong to him. He felt the corners of his mouth sinking down. His skin itched and somehow he had to resist the urge to curl himself together.

Maybe he should remember his problem. It had been something important, he knew that. It had been important.

That was when a voice danced through the air.

“Bruce..?”

Bruce frowned. It took him a few seconds to understand that the uttered word had been his name. It took him another second to realise who had been the one to say it.

“Dick,” he whispered and his heart jumped at the name. It shouldn’t have been so difficult to speak but his tongue stumbled over the words as if he were talking in a foreign language.

“How are… how… you alright?”

The small lamp in the hallway left half of Dick’s face masked by darkness but Bruce still felt his eyes piercing through his skin like knifes.

He couldn’t remember stepping forward but somehow he was only half a metre apart from Dick when his mind caught up. How could his flesh burn and shudder of cold at the same time?

“You’re drunk,” Dick stated. His voice sounded like it was echoing through a tunnel. “You’re never drunk. Why are you drunk, Bruce?”

Bruce blinked, his eyes roaming over Dick. He had grown quite a bit in the last years, hadn’t he? There couldn’t be more than a few inches between them. He was tall enough to make it easy looking at his face.

At this proximity Bruce would even be able to count the freckles that gathered just below his eyes, on his nose and chin. Dick’s eyes were like the sea, blue, wild and soft at the same time. He’d never realised how beautiful they were, his eyes. _Really_ beautiful.

His eyelids fluttered shut and he almost fell over as the muscles in his legs lost their strength. Bruce couldn’t remember raising his hand but somehow it ended up on Dick’s shoulder holding onto him, his fingers digging into the fabric of his shirt.

“I’m sorry,” Bruce whispered but the sound didn’t even reach his own ears. When he forced himself to open his eyes he was almost close enough to Dick for their noses to touch. Their breaths mingled in the air. If Bruce were looking for it, he would’ve heard a second heartbeat speeding up in the darkness.

He didn’t know why but somehow his hand wandered away from Dick’s shoulders to brush against his jawline. His blood ran hot and heavy through his veins when his thumb began circling the freckles on Dick’s cheek.

In the next second Dick backed off as if somebody had punched him shaking his head. Bruce hand fell to his side, his heart twisting in his chest.

“Y-you’re not… yourself,” Dick muttered. “Go to sleep, Bruce.” Even in his drunkenness Bruce noticed the shaking syllables of the words. His chest tightened.

When Dick turned to leave Bruce felt the urge to go after him.

In the end, he didn’t.

He fell onto the mattress later, his eyes burning and for a second, _only for a second_ , he wanted to cry.

~

Bruce vowed to never get his hands on alcohol again.

 _Never_.

~

It wasn’t until well past midday that Bruce woke up realising he hadn’t been patrolling Gotham the night before. He sighed.

The world seemed to crumble around him.

He gulped down the sickness, the bitterness, the ache of his heart and rose to face reality.

~

When Alfred came in carrying a tray with a glass of water, a slightly smaller glass of orange juice and a package of Ibuprofen, Bruce stared at him with a frown. The pounding at the back of his head had only gotten worse with every waking minute and if he hadn't already been dressed he probably would have gone back to sleep. However, _he_ hadn’t called Alfred.

That led to only one conclusion.

“Dick,” he murmured.

The small smile of Alfred’s lips confirmed his suspicion even before he opened his mouth.

“Good morning, Master Bruce,” he said before placing the tray on the mattress. “Although it seems to me that a good afternoon is more appropriate.”

Bruce didn’t answer taking the medicine with a blank face and a short thanks. He didn’t look into Alfred’s eyes once. His skin prickled but he forced himself to shove away all thoughts and feelings regarding the past day.

It wasn’t easy.

“It was indeed Master Richard who told me of your condition,” Alfred continued. Bruce couldn’t help but wish that he would be quiet, that he would leave the room and him alone. “I assured him that I would take care of the aftermath.”

The glass was empty but Bruce still held onto it. Maybe to stop his fingers from shaking.

“He also asked about your reasons.” Bruce felt his muscles tensing but he couldn’t bring himself to say something.

“Of course, I told him that they are entirely your matters.”

Bruce turned his head to meet the gaze of Alfred who had sat down next to him. There was so much warmth in his eyes that Bruce had to fight the urge to look away, his insides twisting. _I don’t deserve this_ , shot through his mind and he clenched his teeth. _I don’t deserve Alfred. I don’t deserve Dick_.

“However, I wouldn’t resent you for telling me what’s bothering you.”

Bruce looked away.

His heart jumped against his ribcage. His gaze only brushed the symbol on his wrist for a second but it had had to be enough time for Alfred to notice.

“Does it have to do with your mark, Master Bruce?”

Bruce froze until he didn’t. When the tension left his muscles, it took away all the strength in his body and mind leaving him heavy and exhausted. He sighed.

“Dick got his soulmark yesterday,” he whispered. His voice didn’t sound like him and a part of him was happy about it. At least then he could pretend to listen to someone else talking.

“And… you know his soulmate?” Bruce gave a sharp nod. The urge to bury his face in his hands grew stronger with every passing second. Every word that came out of Alfred’s mouth was another dagger in his chest.

“Is it… a criminal or…” In any other situation the confusion in Alfred’s voice would have been laughable. Bruce would’ve laughed if his throat hadn't been that dry, if his mind hadn't been that empty. “I have to admit I’m not sure about the connection between your mark and-“

“It’s me,” Bruce spitted out. The words tasted like bile on his tongue. “I’m his soulmate.”

Somehow the sound of it was even worse. Somehow it made it only more real. Frighteningly, terrifyingly real. The weight on his chest grew heavier and for a second he didn’t know how to breathe.

The silence felt like it would never end. Somehow it did, though.

“Well, I certainly didn’t anticipate anything like that,” Alfred began, his voice oddly breathless sounding. “Did you tell him?”

Bruce didn’t know what he had expected Alfred to say. It surely hadn’t been those words. Thoughts were twirling inside his mind and it took him a few moments to find an answer.

“Of course not,” he growled. “How would I even begin? _Sorry to destroy your dreams, Dick, but we’re soulmates, so you must marry me as everyone expects us to live happily ever after. Doesn’t matter that I’m much older and you’re my ward. It’s in the genes!_ ” He snorted tasting bile. “Yeah, I’m sure, he’ll love that.”

Bruce set down the glass with an ugly  _klong_. When he felt a soft pet on his right shoulder, he turned his head to look at Alfred with narrowed eyes. 

“Master Bruce, I understand that this is a delicate situation. You’re facing something that you’re not used to, that you cannot control and that can be scary. However, I think you’re being too hard on yourself. I have a question for you. I want you to think about it and I want you to respond honestly. Can you do that?”

Bruce stared at him for a long moment, his jaw tensing. Then, he nodded.

“Is it the thought of being with Master Richard that makes you shy away… or is it the fear of his reaction?”

Bruce frowned. He didn’t want to ponder over the question. What kind of question was it anyway? It didn’t matter what _he_ thought of Dick. Though, he didn’t feel like he would hate to touch him. Pictures flew through his head, wobbly memories from when he had caressed Dick’s cheek, and he had to fight the heat spreading through his face. When he was being honest, it _had_ felt good. Though only underneath the bitter guilt.

“I shouldn’t think about him in that way…,” Bruce murmured, voice stifled. “He would detest me.”

When he exhaled, it was more like a sigh. In the silence that followed the rain banging against the windows sounded even more like gun shots.

“Maybe you should let Master Richard make that choice,” Alfred said getting up. “He’ll know about it some day, one way or another. In the end, wouldn’t it be only fair to tell him yourself?”

Bruce still looked at the door long after Alfred had passed it.

~

In the following night, when they went out as Batman and Robin, it almost felt normal.

They cleared the streets of a few more criminals, saved a woman from getting robbed and a man from getting beaten up. They moved through the darkness of Gotham like shadows, a night like so many nights before.

If Bruce glanced at Dick a bit longer and a bit more often, if he felt his heart race every time they closed in on a possible danger, it wasn’t too obvious. At least he hoped so.

Neither of them mentioned the previous day.

It wasn’t until the early morning hours that they returned to Wayne Manor. That was when Bruce couldn’t give in to the sweet illusion of ignorance anymore.

“I’m sorry about my behaviour last night,” he said storing away his cape. “It wasn’t appropriate.”

Dick was standing somewhere behind him. It was probably only because Bruce didn’t need to look at him that his voice didn’t quaver. His muscles tensed as he waited for Dick’s response but he didn’t have to wait too long.

“Well, you’re certainly not the first one to get drunk. I can assure you that it could have been _way_ worse.” A soft laugh.

Bruce felt a weight leaving his chest that he hadn’t known was still there. He felt something tugging at the corners of his mouth and almost gave in to the urge to smile.

That was when he felt a hand on his shoulder and his breath faltered, his heart leaped. He froze until his mind caught up with the only possible explanation. It was no surprise when Dick’s voice echoed close to his ear.

“I thought about what you told me,” he murmured. Bruce drew his eyebrows together at the words and the tone of his voice. Why did he sound almost… _sad_?

What was he even talking about? It wasn’t as if Bruce had already told him something important, had he?

“I also want to apologise.”

Bruce felt the hand leaving his shoulder, almost mourning the warmth. When Dick stepped forward to look at him there was something dancing in his eyes that Bruce didn’t understand.

“I guess it wasn’t really nice of me to boast about my mark when you, well…, well…,” Dick rubbed his neck, a half smile on his lips that didn’t want to seem happy. Rather sad. _Why is he…?_ With every passing second Bruce felt more like he was missing something. Like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle that just couldn’t be found.

He watched as Dick’s cheeks turned a slightly darker colour when he finally got out the words.

“I just want you to know that I didn’t want to make fun of you. I didn’t want to hurt you. A-and if you want to talk about this whole soulmark thing one day I’ll be there for you, okay?”

For a chilling, torturing second Bruce thought Dick had heard about them being soulmates somehow. However, when he went through the words inside his head, they didn’t fit. They didn’t make sense. What _was_ Dick talking about? He gulped in spite of his dry mouth.

“You didn’t hurt me,” he said, even though he didn’t know _what_ should have hurt him in the first place.

Dick’s eyes lit up, a grin appearing on his face and Bruce felt an odd warmth rushing through his body.

“You’re sure?” He half-heartedly shrugged his shoulders. “Well, I guess there _are_ a lot of benefits in not having a soulmate. You don’t have to worry about the how’s and when’s and who’s at least…”

Bruce closed his eyes fighting the urge to punch himself in the face for his own stupidity. Of course, _that_ was what Dick was talking about. His lie. _I lied to him_ , Bruce realised with a pang in his heart. He had lied to him, to Dick, to his soulmate. The person that meant the most to him in the entire world, maybe apart from Alfred.

_Great. Just great._

He felt as if he took two steps backwards with every step forward. There was a storm raging in his mind that didn’t want to stop. That only gripped him tighter the more he wanted to stay calm. What was he supposed to do now?

 _He’ll know about it someday, one way or another. In the end, wouldn’t it be only fair to tell him yourself?_ , a voice of his memory whispered and he froze.

 _I should_ , he thought. _I should tell him_.

He should but his lips were pressed together in a way that didn’t seem to loosen any time soon. As if they were sewn together, as if his mouth refused to speak. His skin prickled and he felt as if someone were twisting a knife in his stomach. He could taste the blood already.

How could it be so hard to say a few simple words?

In the end, it wasn’t him who spoke.

“I really don’t want to spend the whole morning waiting in this cave and I bet you neither,” Dick said and Bruce’s eyelids fluttered open. “Could you do us both a favour and just spit out whatever’s burning in your throat?”

Bruce looked at him, into eyes sparkling with life and determination. Maybe it was the surprise about these words that made him speak. Maybe it was something else.

This wasn’t going to be easy. But there was no getting around it. Some things had to be done.

He took a deep breath and jumped off the cliff.

“I need to tell you something,” he murmured. His voice sounded like he was delivering a death sentence.

“Yeah, I gathered that much.” There was a grin on Dick’s face but the certainty in his eyes seemed to falter. For a second Bruce considered cutting off all his attempts at making _this_ conversation. It was still possible, wasn’t it? He hadn’t told anything yet. He could say _nevermind_ and Dick would laugh, _hopefully_ , and all would be well.

He could see it, this alternative. But…

_No._

It wouldn’t be right. It wouldn’t be fair. Maybe Dick deserved something better than him but he definitely didn’t deserve being lied to.

“I didn’t tell you the truth yesterday,” Bruce continued and the words were heavy on his tongue. With every passing second the frown on Dick’s face grew. Bruce’s voice, having been quite strong in the beginning, was almost inaudible with the next sentence. “I… I _do_ have a soulmark.”

Dick’s mouth opened as if he wanted to say something but Bruce didn’t let him. He knew that he wouldn’t be able say more if he let him.

“I know I shouldn’t have lied to you but I… I… well, I had my reasons. I…,” _am your soulmate_. His heart raced in his chest, his breath stuck in his throat. _I can’t do it_ , he thought, the eyes wide.

 _I can’t_.

He gritted his teeth clenching his fists. Then he exhaled, letting go of all the tension in his body. Maybe he couldn’t say it but he also didn’t need to.

Bruce rolled up the sleeve of his button-down shirt and turned his wrist into the light of the lamps.

For a second he thought he would die then and there. He certainly felt like it.

He watched as the frown on Dick’s face disappeared leaving wide eyes, a pale skin and too many emotions flickering through his face to count.

He watched as Dick’s gaze darted from his wrist to his own naked arm and back again as if he couldn’t believe what he saw. He probably couldn’t believe it. He certainly didn’t want to believe it. That the crescent moon was the same as the one ingrained in his own wrist.

The air seemed to vibrate around them. The silence felt too long and too short at the same time. It was only when Dick broke it that Bruce realised that he had been holding his breath all along.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” His voice was quiet, albeit not in a shy, insecure way. It was cold like the snow but without the glittering beauty of a sunny winter’s day. It was an ice storm that froze Bruce’s blood and ripped his body apart.

It took him far too long to answer.

“It wasn’t… easy… I…,” he tried knowing in the same moment that the words weren’t enough, weren’t right. His muscles tensed but there didn’t seem to be a right thing to say. He resisted the urge to rub his neck. He couldn’t look into Dick’s eyes anymore. “Well, I’m telling you now at least…”

“How considerate of you,” Dick ground out and Bruce _knew_ that it had been the wrong response.

“So, it hadn’t been easy to… do what exactly?” Dick laughed in a way that didn’t sound happy at all. “You knew from the moment I told you about my mark that we’re… _soulmates_ and it took you _two days_ to tell me? I…” He shook his head, his voice like venom. “I can’t believe this. Why… why…, _oh, damn_ , forget about it. I don’t care.”

When Bruce looked up, Dick had crossed his arms, his eyes narrowed and burning.

“I must be a really awful person if you’d rather drink yourself into oblivion than even consider talking to me.” Something flashed through his gaze and Dick froze. “I probably still wouldn’t know if it weren’t for Alfred, right?”

The look on Bruce’s must have said enough because Dick shook his head a second later.

“Right.”

Bruce should have said something, _anything_. To hold him back. To correct him. He tried to open his mouth but time went by too quickly. Time wouldn’t let him.

“Don’t come looking for me.”

Dick turned and was gone a second later.

~

Bruce sighed.

_Of course._

Of course, it couldn’t have gone well.

He hadn’t known that it was possible to feel more terrible than he had felt already.

~

Bruce should have gone to sleep but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to without even touching the mattress.

The cabinet with countless bottles of different sorts of alcohol glittered with its very own temptation but he knew that he wouldn’t do it. It hadn't helped him in the past, had it? There had been a time of false joy but it had been only that, false. In the end, it had made things worse.

Unable to find the right thing to do, unable to make himself do _anything_ , he sat in the batcave. For an hour.

For another hour.

For another hour.

Eventually, he didn’t count them anymore, body and mind numb.

He thought about yesterday. He thought about today. He thought about Dick, about their conversation, about his reaction.

_Why didn’t you tell me?_

Bruce frowned as the words rushed through head, his heart jumping at the memory.

Dick had been furious, had been sad, _yes_ , but he hadn’t said anything about Bruce being his soulmate. At least not what he thought of it. It had seemed as if he didn’t care about the fact that Bruce was his soulmate.

It had seemed as if he’d only been disappointed in Bruce because he hadn't told him sooner. Because he had lied to him.

Could it be that he really didn’t care?

Bruce breathed in, breathed out.

Then he rose to go looking for Dick.

~

Dick wasn’t in his room.

When he also wasn’t in the library, in the study or the kitchen, Bruce realised that he didn’t need to go through the other rooms of the manor anymore. Dick wouldn’t be there.

It didn’t matter.

Bruce knew where Dick would be. After all, there was only one place left.

~

The sky wasn’t black anymore. There were patches of blue where the sun was reflecting on the clouds floating around like pieces of fabric. If he narrowed his eyes, he would be able to see the sun itself as a soft yellowish line at the bottom of the horizon. It would probably rise soon enough to enlighten the city.

Even if Bruce hadn’t done it already countless times, it would have been easy to climb the roof of the mansion. He _was_ Batman after all.

It didn’t take him long to spot Dick, curled together to rest his chin on the knees and looking into the distance. The wind ruffled his hair and made his shirt cling to his skin. It couldn’t be too comfortable but Dick didn’t seem to be bothered by it.

Bruce inhaled pausing for a moment. It didn’t seem as if Dick had noticed him yet but it could only be a matter of time. For a second he wanted to turn around but he knew that it wasn’t possible anymore. If he was being honest with himself it hadn’t been possible since that fateful moment in the kitchen.

Dick didn’t flinch when Bruce sat down next to him. He only turned his head slightly as if to confirm his suspicion before looking back at the horizon. His face was blank but it seemed as if there was a shadow underneath. Maybe because Bruce _knew_ that he wasn’t as callous as he gave himself in that moment.

For a few seconds there was silence, only broken by the occasional bird or a distant siren.

“I’m sorry,” Bruce finally managed to say. “I know that I should’ve told you sooner.”

Dick didn’t respond. If it weren’t for the small movements of his muscles, the light tensing of his jaw, Bruce wouldn't be able to tell if he was even listening.

“I’m also sorry that I lied to you,” he added, his mouth oddly dry. He didn’t apologise often but when he did, it was genuine.

Dick snorted, turning his head to look at Bruce.

“I couldn’t care less about your apologies.” He sighed shaking his head. “I just want to know… _why_ …”

Bruce knitted his brows slightly as he searched Dick’s face for signs that he wasn’t being honest, that it wasn’t only _this_ question that was rushing through his mind. He couldn’t find any.

“Aren’t you… disturbed by this?”, Bruce asked unable to contain his confusion anymore. “Aren’t you… disgusted? I can’t possibly be what you wished for in a… _soulmate_ …” It still felt strange to use that word but it didn’t leave a bad taste in his mouth anymore.

“Even if I weren’t twice your age… you shouldn’t be forced to stay with me. You should be able to find a family, maybe have a kid or two. You should be able to choose a healthy, a _safe_ life. You won’t get that with me and I… I feel like you’re stuck with me.” He sighed rubbing his eyes. “I’ve never wanted that for you.”

His heart jumped in his chest, loud enough to almost drown out Dick’s voice.

“You… you think I’m disappointed that you’re my soulmate?”

“You aren’t?” Bruce looked up. Dick had lifted his brows, his eyes sparkling in the sunlight. It almost seemed as if there were golden speckles dancing in the blue irises. One corner of his mouth rose to a half smile.

“Well, of course I was surprised at first. Who wouldn’t be?” He shrugged his shoulders. “I hadn’t thought of the possibility… but the age thing?” He burst out laughing. “Man, did you look into the mirror lately? Or like, at all? You’re gorgeous! I’m lucky that I’ve got such a handsome soulmate and that won’t change anytime soon.”

The sun wasn’t high enough yet to cover Bruce completely with its rays but somehow he didn’t sense the cold anymore. Somehow there was a warmth spreading through his body, a warmth that didn’t come from the outside, he realised. It came from the inside, from his heart, gentle like blossoms in spring.

He smiled. It wasn’t big, perhaps it wouldn’t even be visible to an outsider, but it was real.

“And when did you get the impression that I didn’t enjoy life with you?” Dick rolled his eyes.

“I have to admit, it does feel a bit weird to have my life planned, at least to a certain extant… but I guess that’s normal when you’re dealing with soulmarks. We’re all in the same boat, right?” His soft smile evolved into a grin. “ _I_ don’t have a problem spending my life with you. I wouldn’t be here if I had one.”

When a shadow flickered through his eyes, his grin tumbled down. When he spoke a second later, his voice was barely a whisper. “I… well, I thought you were the one that… didn’t want _me_ …”

“Don’t you dare say something like that,” Bruce growled even before he realised what he was about to say. When he did, his breath caught in his throat. He felt blood rushing to his face and hoped against better reason that Dick wouldn’t notice. He coughed. “W-what I wanted to say was that you’re…” _beautiful, incredible, perfect, …_ He shook his head and the thoughts away. “Well, I couldn’t leave you even if I wanted to. And I don’t.”

Bruce was thankful for the wind that at least somehow fought down the heat in his cheeks. He wasn’t good in saying these things and it only became more obvious to him with every new word.

“Could you close your eyes for a moment?”, Dick murmured. When Bruce glanced at him, there was a rosy shade beneath his eyes. “I want to try something.”

Bruce gulped in spite of his dry mouth. Some part of him knew what Dick ‘wanted to try’ and his skin prickled. He didn’t believe that he would be able to say something, his tongue heavy between his teeth. Somehow he managed though.

“Alright,” he whispered and his eyelids fluttered shut.

For a second there was only wind blowing against his skin.

Then he felt something pressing against his lips, at first softly like feathers before the pressure increased. Strands of hair tickled his cheeks and forehead and his heart danced inside his chest. There was the warmth of the sun but there was also the warmth in his body spreading to his fingertips, dissolving every tension, every coldness, every bad thought he could have had.

It was almost as if he were floating, flying above the clouds.

When he opened his lids, he looked into Dick’s eyes, sparkling and vibrant, and his heart skipped a beat. 

He raised a hand to let it rest against his cheek tilting his head to pull them closer together. When he let his tongue slide forwards to gently suck at Dick’s lower lip, Dick groaned as if in surprise. Bruce watched his pupils widening, watched his eyelids fluttering as if he were fighting the urge to close them. The colour of his cheeks darkened a few shades more and there was a surge of heat rushing through Bruce’s body.

He pulled his lips away, albeit still leaving soft circles with the tips of his fingers on Dick’s skin.

Dick smiled, a smile so bright and warm that Bruce almost couldn’t believe that it was intended for him.

Maybe there _was_ a life for them together after all.

Maybe they could make it work.

~

~

~

“You know, you _do_ have a really nice and soft and big bed waiting in the manor, Bruce. Well, I’m not really tired but I bet there are a lot other possible uses-“

“Don’t you even _think_ about it until you’re eighteen.”

~

~

~


End file.
